Angry Clam, a UC Berkeley blogger, reprints in his May 9 blog two freshman English course descriptions that are guaranteed to make your hair curl. The courses are taught by English graduate student Snehal Shingavi, who is a leader of the International Socialist Organization (ISO), Stop the War Coalition, and Berkeley's now-notorious Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP). The courses are blatantly ideological: the first is called "Why the Modernists hated wars, and why you should, too," while the second is titled "The Politics and Poetics of Palestinian Resistance." They are also blatantly partisan: they require ideological conformity as a condition of registration. Appended to the description of the Modernism course is the following: "This class has an anti-war emphasis; most of the literature that we read and essays that will we [sic] examine will take as their starting point the claim that wars are not the solutions that they claim to be, that they in fact destroy the lives of the people who lose and those who win. ... If ideological conflists [sic]will make it difficult for you to engage in the discussion, please select another course." Appended to the course on Palestinian poetics is an analogous statement: "This class takes as its starting point the right of Palestinians to fight for their own self-determination. Conservative thinkers are encouraged to seek other sections."

Keep in mind that these are supposedly composition courses designed to fulfill Cal's Reading and Composition Requirement. Shingavi's first description treats the ostensible purpose of the course, to teach students how to write clear, persuasive prose, as an afterthought: "In this class, we will discuss the nature of war, its impact on historical consciousness, and strategies for writing about literature." The second description does not mention writing at all. This graduate student is not interested in teaching writing. He is using the writing classroom as a political bully pulpit. He is exceptional in his willingness to be so open about that. But among the ranks of grad students teaching freshman comp in this country, he is very far from being alone.

The message this "teacher" is sending is unmistakable: "You are only welcome in my classroom if you agree with me. You are not welcome if you seek to learn about perspectives different from your own, and you are not welcome to develop a perspective different from mine in the course of this class. In other words, far from teaching you critical thinking, I will make conformity to my ideological position a condition of your academic success in my class. Never mind that my job is to teach you to write. Never mind that my job is to help you learn to think for yourself, to discover what your own views are and to articulate them clearly on paper. Never mind that debate and challenge are essential to this process. In this class, we will not question, or explore, or challenge anything at all. Instead, we will spend the entire semester reinforcing our pre-existing beliefs. Your grade, it goes without saying, will be entirely contingent on your ability to parrot my beliefs back at me. Extra credit for telling me what I want to hear."

The Berkeley English department web site is woefully counterintuitive and thin on information, as is the College Writing Program web site. It's hard to tell who is in charge of the writing program there, and who, if anyone, vets graduate student course syllabi. Professor Janet Adelman is Department Chair, however, and can be emailed at adelman@uclink4.berkeley.edu, should you be moved to express your thoughts about how students in her department are abusing their authority in the classroom. If you want to shoot a little higher, here's a list of Berkeley administrators. Conservative and liberal thinkers are encouraged to respond.